OG Anunoby's three-pointer lifts Knicks over Grizzlies in exciting 114-113 comeback win

OG Anunoby’s three-pointer lifts Knicks over Grizzlies in exciting 114-113 comeback win

The Knicks came back in the fourth quarter to beat the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night, 114-113, on OG Anunoby‘s late three-pointer.

Here are the takeaways…

-Friday night marked the return of Mitchell Robinson, who made his season debut with 7:17 left in the first quarter as he entered the game for Karl-Anthony Towns. The first-year Knick got the start after missing New York’s last game against the Philadelphia 76ers with a knee injury, but he got two early fouls.

Robinson played six minutes in the first quarter before being subbed off, but the center looked good while on the floor and scored four points, including a two-handed slam, while grabbing two rebounds (one offensive). In fact, in those six minutes, Robinson had a plus-5 rating.

-Although it will take some time to get his minutes back up, with Robinson back in the fold, he and the rest of the Knicks – at full strength for the first time all season – will try their best to get their defensive identity back under head coach Tom Thibodeau.

It won’t happen overnight, though, as New York surrendered 32 points against the Grizzlies’ high-powered offense in the first quarter and went into the second down by seven.

-The Knicks’ defense tightened up in the second quarter as they held Memphis to 27 points. Offensively, New York did a good job of spreading the ball around, getting mostly everyone involved and putting up 31 points in the quarter to cut the halftime deficit to three points.

-Despite Robinson and Towns’ return, as well as getting Josh Hart back in the lineup, the Knicks were destroyed on the boards in the first half, something that continued into the second half. In fact, Jalen Brunson, at 6-foot-2 and one of the shortest players on the team, led New York in rebounds for most of the game.

Overall, Memphis outrebounded New York, 58-35.

-The third quarter began with an offensive flurry but saw points come at a bit of a premium and included a long stretch where neither team could make a basket. The Grizzlies did go on an 11-2 run in the quarter, but the Knicks did well to stabilize themselves with some well-timed three-pointers towards the end of the quarter and entered the final frame only down by six at 88-82.

-After the third-quarter buzzer went off, Ja Morant received a technical foul for heaving the ball full court in a bit of a strange turn of events.

-New York flipped a switch in the fourth quarter and took its first lead at 93-92 with 10:05 left in the game. From there, the game became a back-and-forth affair with bench players Cam Payne, Landry Shamet and Miles McBride coming up big.

In the end, though, the Knicks turned to their stars like Brunson when they desperately needed a shot, and the point guard delivered, as he has time and time again, with a late three that gave New York the lead once again. However, Morant responded with a three-point play 10 seconds later that gave Memphis a one-point lead with 14 seconds remaining.

It looked as though that would be the game-winning shot, but Anunoby’s three-pointer with four seconds left (assisted by Brunson) saved the day. The Grizzlies lost the game after Morant missed a last-second layup, giving New York its second straight win.

Game MVP: OG Anunoby

This one’s pretty self-explanatory, although an honorable mention must go to Mitchell Robinson for his immediate impact in limited minutes in his first game back this season.